Birthday Wishes
by Laugher.Lover.Fighter
Summary: AU, Oneshot. Graham and Emma celebrate her birthday with a special outing. But Graham may be in for a surprise! Written for my friend who is celebrating her real birthday today, hope you all enjoy!


**Birthday Wishes**

**So a very awesome friend of mine happens to be celebrating her birthday today! I don't know if she'd want her name up here, so I'm just going to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I'm so glad we've become friends these past few months, and I look forward to our little Gosh and Snowing and Once rants everyday. Anyway, this fic is Gremma and is specially dedicated to her. Love you!**

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All Emma saw was darkness. Even when she opened her eyes, the black seemed to bare into her. She heard the driver of the car make a turn, and she sighed loudly.

"Graham? Is the blindfold really necessary?" Emma asked, trying to lift up the cloth the slightest bit.

Graham laughed before hitting her hand away and concentrating on the road.

"Yes, or you're going to ruin the surprise," he said, his voice anticipating her reaction to where he was taking her.

They drove for several minutes in and out of the heavily forested area before finally reaching their destination. Emma laughed as Graham got her out of the car shakily, and pushed her towards the area. He gave her a small kiss before finally lifting off the cloth and gesturing away from him. "Ta-da!" he said, looking quite proud of his handiwork.

Emma gasped at the scene in front of her, tears almost coming to her eyes as she thought of the thoughtfulness of the outing. Laying in front of them was a beach, which seemed to stretch for miles in either direction. The waves crashed lightly into the beach, carrying with them a salty smell that only came when one stood close to the ocean. "Graham, it's so beautiful," Emma said, walking to get closer to the water. Luckily, she had thought to wear sandals, and dipped her toes in ever so slightly. She nearly jumped at the sudden chill, but got used to it after several moments.

She felt Graham's strong arms wrap around her protectively, and he kissed the crown of her head from behind. Emma felt a slow smile across her face, and looked out as the blood red sun began to set.

"There's one more thing," Graham remembered, pulling her slightly farther down the beach. There right on the sand, lay a picnic blanket , complete with a dinner and champage. Emma's eyes filled with tears as she turned around to kiss Graham, smiling widely.

"What's all this for?" Emma asked, slightly confused, but happy for the random romantic gesture.

"Your birthday of course!" Graham exclaimed, tugging her over to the picnic blanket before popping the cork and pouring the champagne.

"Graham, I-" Emma began to say, holding her glass when suddenly Graham smiled over at her and began a speech.

"A toast to Emma, the birthday girl. You've taught me how to cherish, protect and love every single moment when I'm with you. I never thought in a million years that I'd have someone so beautiful, kind and a general bad ass in my life, let alone my girlfriend. So I just wanted to say thank you, Ugly Duckling. You'll always be my princess," Graham smiled before planting a sweet kiss on Emma's lips. Tears finally slipped from Emma's eyes as they clinked glasses and drank. Soon, the couple were having another silly battle over something, this time, who could land a grape in their mouth first.

Emma opened her mouth first, in prime catching position. She smiled at Graham and watched as the grape sailed through the air. She snagged it perfectly, and chewed down on the fruit with satisfaction while Graham pretended to look dejected. "Well I guess I won!" Emma exclaimed, smirking at Graham's expression. He flipped his tousled brown hair from his face, and smiled at her before saying: "Nope. If I get this one, then we're tied, which means sudden death. You scared?" he asked, mocking her by pretending to stretch his arms.

"Hardly," Emma said, plucking a grape from the picnic basket. Graham lined up his mouth in the air, ready to hopefully catch the grape and finally win one of their arguments for once.

Suddenly, a mischevious grin came over Emma's face, and she tossed the grape right at Graham. It hit off his face and broke, the juice spilling down his forehead as he opened his eyes. Emma lay on the ground laughing, her shoulders heaving as she giggled at her obvious "accident".

"Oh, you are so dead!" Graham yelled, before picking Emma up easily around her waist, and throwing her over his shoulder. Emma tried to mangle free of his grip, and gasped when she saw where he was taking her. "Graham, no. No way. I swear to god if you get my hair wet I am going to-" Emma shut her eyes tightly as he lifted her from his shoulder, preparing for the cold, ocean water.

Instead, Graham smiled down at her and brushed the hair from her eyes before leaning down and planting a soft kiss on her lips. Emma returned the kiss with happiness, casting aside her shoes as she wrapped her arms around Graham's neck, pulling him closer. Unexpectedly, Graham dipped Emma down, her hair barely grazing the shallow water as he kissed her again. When he finally brought her back up to standing, Emma laughed: "Aren't you a real Prince Charming?"

"I have a name you know," Graham pouted, pretending to look away. Emma threw back her head again before saying: "Don't care, Charming suits you." She kneeled down and splashed him, wetting his shirt and jeans. Graham frowned down at his shirt, shaking his hair like a dog, before looking into her eyes and smiling deeply. "Well, well, well. This means war!" he said, before splashing Emma down her front, finally wetting her hair. Emma gasped, gesturing toward herself.

"Really?!" she gestured again towards her wet shirt, but Graham merely used it as an excuse to pull her closer, stealing her breath as he gave her another sweet kiss. She smiled up at him, gazing into his deep, brown eyes. Graham reached down and laced their fingers together, before picking up his shoes and beginning to walk down the beach. Emma did the same, and soon they were walking down the stretch of sand, hand in hand. Graham smiled down at Emma, and looked out as the sun finally set behind the horizon. Emma yawned, and placed her head on Graham's shoulder as they walked, smiling because her head fit there, as if it was meant to be.

After awhile, the moon finally made it's appearance in the night sky, as the stars twinkled and danced. The full moon reflected on the water, as a lone wolf howled in the distance. Emma and Graham lay down in the sand, still keeping their fingers interlocked. They turned their heads at the same time, brown eyes meeting blue, and after giving her a quick kiss, Graham stared back up at the stars.

"Graham?" Emma asked softly, using one of her hands to stroke the hair from his face.

"Yeah?" Graham asked, gazing into her eyes again, pulling her hair away from her face.

Emma looked up into the stars happily, and Graham was filled with love as she watched her wonderstruck expression at the millions of stars you could see from a place without lights everywhere else. "Today was one of the best days I've ever had. No one's ever been this thoughtful to me, ever. So I just wanted to thank you, because every single one of my birthday wishes came true." Emma finished, keeping her eyes trained on the stars and moon.

Graham smiled before brushing his lips over Emma's cheek, causing her face to blush deeply. "You're welcome," he whispered, the breeze again picking up slightly, causing the trees at the tip of the beach to sway. The waves continued to lap at the shore, and Graham was almost drifting off before saying.

"Except Graham, there's something I have to tell you," Emma looked concerned at him, sitting up slightly.

Graham squeezed her hand in reassurance, hoping she would be honest with him.

"I don't really know how to put this," Emma drew back her hair slightly, before letting it fall back to below her shoulders. Graham tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ears before saying. "It's alright, you can tell me anything," he nodded to her in reassurance.

Emma blew out a breath before looking him straight in the eyes. Graham was somewhat fearful of what she was about to say, but kept his eyes locked on her.

"My birthday?" Emma said, never once leaving Graham's gaze, and he nodded at her again to continue. "Yes?" he asked, hoping she would get to the point.

"It's tomorrow."

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**Surprise ending! Hope you enjoyed this mini fic on Emma's birthday with Graham. I will honestly probably always ship Gremma, and Heart is a Lonely Hunter is on tomorrow! Gosh the feelings are going to be off the charts, poor Graham. Anyway, one last time I wanted to say a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend, (it is her birthday today, not tomorrow ;) because without her, I would have probably never written some of the fics I'm writing now. The talks we have are amazing and I always love all the Once and other general moments we have. Love you girl, hope you had an amazing birthday, and this was a good enough present!**


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